Description

Appearance

Kayleigh Moira has a slim hourglass figure, with long black hair and red eyes; her clothes tend towards high quality with red as a common color somewhere in her outfit (black being next most common). While she isn't against wearing clothes made by others, she has the speed and finesse to make nearly whatever she wants; most of what she wears, she herself made. She doesn't feel particularly beholden to popular trends (and will do her own variations on them sometimes), but most would agree her fashion is well made, if sometimes a bit off; she has even accidentally started a local trend or three on occasion. She can often be found wearing a smile, though how reassuring that is varies from enthusiastic curiosity, false innocence, mischievous, or mocking; the more focused or predatory of those can be quite unnerving. It isn't uncommon for her to cultivate an air of mystery, even for things she didn't have a hand in, though the effect can be ruined if she starts inquiring partway through about basic human conventions she hasn't fully grasped yet.

Personality

While she's often interested in asking about or observing something or other, it is not always what your average human being would expect in a given situation; if pressed, she will sometimes comment that her family considers her a bit eccentric. Often though, she is far more interested in observing or being a background part of the action itself; she loves to watch plays, but would rather be in the audience or behind the stage than strutting on stage herself. She likes playing the part of the enabler (or disabler as the case may be) and loves to spread stories (sometimes with more or less artistic license). She has a critical eye for fashion, though she will normally reserve snarky comments on what others wear for fighting them; making clothes for others or volunteering to go shopping with them is something she will do even for those who dress well though. Watching the changes in stories as they pass through people is fascinating to her; the internet and social media are things she has the highest praises for… even if also sometimes her frustrated curses as well.
She always seems to have something at hand to take notes or pictures with, and seems to enjoy indulging her curiosity; she's made a job in journalism, somewhat, as a result. It has exposed her to an incredible number of situations up close, and a convenient excuse for nosing about. It's also let her indulge in watching heroics… sometimes ones that she has (behind the scenes) encouraged or even all but did herself. If asked, she'll even admit that she has a thing for heroic figures doing heroic things heroically; in those occasions where she's willing to accept credit, she's still slightly bemused that she is counted as a hero as well now.
Every once in a while, her view of something will be especially distant or nonsensical. Of course that horrible situation had to happen, or surprise people aren't worried at a specific turn of good luck. Most of the time, this just comes off as eccentric, but sometimes it can (correctly) be identified that her mindset is a bit more Other than Human. That she means well for humanity is only so reassuring to those more knowledgeable, but so far she has managed to stay positive… on balance, anyways. This isn't helped by her occasional attempt to express a concept that makes total sense to her in languages that seem to fail her; the frustration can almost be palpable even despite her refusing to be specific about what kinds of situation it would make more sense in.

Background

Having an innate avoidance to discussing her origin or kin, Kayleigh will still occasionally mention that her family doesn't quite approve of her going off on her own instead of following in the family business, with some offhand mention of weaving; this is when she's likely to point out she's just not doing it the same way as them and point out that she keeps time for crafting and journalism both, and launch into some story that certainly isn't changing the topic or point out some curious event that oh so conveniently just happened nearby. While her credentials and identity as Kayleigh Moira seem to check out, it is surprisingly difficult to find out anything more, even about her often unmentioned family. It's a good thing it isn't an entirely fabricated identity made up by an only partially human reality-warper.
She certainly doesn't mention that she's a descendant of the Fate Spiders that ensure Fate continues to run smoothly and reality itself doesn't unravel, or that her sisters and the generations before her helped with that task; while she makes a passable show at being human (and is one of the most human of her kin that she knows), she was raised to watch and manipulate reality from the outside, guarding against snarls and things from outside that would consume fate whole. She can't directly affect reality nearly to the same degree as she could on the other side of reality, but she isn't as limited in how she can affect things either; she's finding out new ways to do things and new things to do. While adopting her super-powered persona, she is willing to freely admit to the more visible of her powers, namely creating objects of surprisingly capable thread or yanking things around by the same; she is much more coy about admitting the extent of how much she can manipulate reality (if only because she is only so sure herself) even while villains fire shot after shot of dud rounds or repeatedly step onto rakes. She is loathe to even consider some of the possible ramifications of what she could do, and has been quite unhappy to find out she can now have nightmares.

Move-by Action: Split move action to before and after standard action, but no change in total distance

Skill Mastery (Expertise: Weaving, Deception): May treat these skills as routine (take10) even under pressure

Set-Up 1: Transfer successful combat interaction skill benefit to (1) ally you can interact with (or can at least see the set-up)

Taunt: Demoralize with Deception instead of Intimidate (resist with Deception/Insight/Will)

Uncanny Dodge: Not vulnerable from surprise or when otherwise caught off guard

Understudy: temporary Advantages

Powers (68)

Skein Walker

Causal Inertia

Action: None

Target: Personal

Duration: Permanent

Extras: -

Flaws: -

Type: Feature

Descriptor: Luck

[1]: Feature

Even in her unusual state, she has a certain level of immunity to causality rewrites. While this will not prevent someone manipulating probability against her, it does mean she gets a fighting chance if reality is rewritten en-masse. Distinguishing between Reality-That-Was and Reality-Which-Is may take some effort, but is nothing she doesn't already do while walking the mortal realm anyways.

Acts similar to Temporal Inertia, but for shifts in Fate instead of Time

Having just recently found herself heroing and suddenly in need of more defense, she has imbued the concept of her clothes with fortifying metaphysical threads. Charged clothes look more solid, though they move normally enough and aren't any more durable; they do tend to stick around in at least scraps even if heavily damaged though. While she can move the charge between clothes, it is difficult for her to recreate it and can be stripped off of her by persistent foes.

Boosts Stamina and non-stamina defenses by 2, can be stripped from her like armor

Understudy

Skill Download 1

Action: Move

Target: Personal

Duration: Sustained

Extras:

Flaws:

Type: Container

Descriptor: Talent

[7]: 7r: Variable (Skills and Advantages)

She has existed outside of fate and had ample time to perceive all that is and was and could be…kind of. It was more limited than that, and is even more limited now that she has crossed over to this side of reality. Still, if she puts her mind to it and keeps her focus, she can recall how to do a truly astonishing number of things, at least for a time.

Sustained, Move-action to set/change 5 point container of temporary Skills and Advantages

She would be a truly unfortunate weaver of tales without an audience that could understand her words. Luckily for her, being exposed to all languages (albeit from a different perspective) has left her with a knack for picking up new languages on this side of reality.

Can understand/be understood in any language (and read), requires some exposure before she picks up the language

Exit Stage Left

Teleport 1

Action: Move

Target: Personal

Duration: Instant

Extras:

Flaws:

Type:

Descriptor: Dimensional

[2]: 2r: Teleport

Stepping outside of reality for a moment, she returns momentarily in a different location. If she keeps it to short distances, there's hardly ever any rips in space-time, even. Typically she steps behind some scenery or otherwise isn't the main view focus of the audience, but a puff of quickly-dissipating multicolored smoke will do in a pinch to mark her entrance and exit.

Because sometimes it's dramatically appropriate to hit the monster in its weak point for massive damage. Or maybe just because it amuses her. Regardless, her uncanny luck allows even minor-seeming attacks to pierce through thick hide or land squarely right where it really hurts.

Lower of this rank or attack rank pierces through Impervious resistances

It would seem luck favors her, as some hits that should have landed find themselves hitting empty air instead (or perhaps a wall). Similarly, some of those truly telling blows end up quite mundane. And she can manage to somehow land on her feet. Sometimes, at least.

Improved her Dodge and Parry by 2; gain immunity to Critical Hits and no falling damage

As luck would have it, many times her wounds turned out to have looked worse than they actually were on second glance. You'd be amazed how many non-vital areas you can get shot through with only minor wounds, and sometimes what seemed a horrible gash turns out to just be a superficial cut that bled a little too much.

Certain traits of her heritage are suppressed on this side of reality (quite a lot of them, really) but she can bring some a bit more to the forefront given a slight bit of focus. Namely, webs and poison are no bother to her.

Calling more heavily on her heritage, she can "see" the vagaries of luck and sense the bending of fate. As a nifty side bonus, she can see in the dark and is harder to surprise as well.

Can "see" luck trends for people, good and bad; may require a Perception check for finer details and power can potentially activate on its own when active at GM discretion. Also, can see in the dark, avoid surprise by those who aren't invisible or the like, and sense the use of Luck/Fate powers not unlike sight.

All but unseen, red threads of surprising strength appear in odd locations and reach out to do her unassuming bidding as if by happenstance. While unusually accurate, some yet dodge free or squirm from their grip if they haven't been tossed aside. Often enough, this just helps make sure that obstacles are where they should be, even if it means grabbing them sight-unseen and tossing them into the situation. Her preference is to avoid being direct, but sometimes you just have to yank someone off their feet and hurl them 60 feet into the air screaming.

Provokes Dodge Resistance in place of attack roll, perception range strength rank 7 that is exceptionally difficult to notice but indirect

With an effort of will, she weaves an object into reality of her own make and design, constructed out of glimmering and intricately interwoven crimson threads; this can include objects with moving parts and considerable detail. Unusually, she can set these objects to allow certain creatures or attacks through without hindrance, even leaving them see-through; all sorts of mischief can be had with this. Despite her preferences, this is quite noticeable both in action and result; she has prior attempted to use it among distractions or from cover.

Create with toughness up to rank and volume up to rank (7: 125 cu ft); Free action to maintain, disappear otherwise

In addition to making temporary magical items, she can also instantly craft fairly complex items as if they were 'normal' items. They do allow for a few perks however, if she so decides while making them: while otherwise a normal object of their type, they fully effect insubstantial things and can be made selectively permeable to those and that which she desires. Of course, the durability of these items may be stronger or weaker than normal, but they are resistant to lesser damage as well.

Create with toughness up to rank and volume up to rank (5: 30 cu ft), range is 2/5/10*r

When you stop to think on it, it's amazing that more fights don't end up with the attacker hurting themselves. With those thoughts in mind and a bit of concentration, she sets out to selectively remedy that disparity in the vagaries of fate. At times, it practically seems like the attackers are even doing it to themselves, even if the form of retribution is at times different in form (though often similar in function…)

Essentially a near undetectable ranged reflect, with potentially different descriptors attached on the return; does not kill however

Some things just aren't right without the proper song and dance. With a distinctive clearing of her throat or some other dramatic cue (even one not made by her), all those within hearing (minus a few she has selected) gain the sudden urge to play out their parts a bit more according to the script. Surprisingly, both those participating and onlooker alike tend to not notice that they may have started playing out a musical or gone into a dramatic soliloquy. Those who manage to partially fight off the urge have some minor issues and may slip deeper under its sway. Those deeply under can opt to do something thematically appropriate instead of the specific script, though they still suffer penalties when doing so.

Resisted and Overcome by Will; Impaired : Compelled

Quirk: follows a 'narrative'; Limited: Can 'step down' to Impaired from Compelled if they keep to the 'narrative')

Given her heroic bent, it may be unsurprising if she finds it normal for villains to ham it up or taunt the heroes, escape or even take hostages (who end up surprisingly safe despite appearances); some rare occasions may call for a dramatic attack or even more rarely killing, but generally her thematics do not involve villains casually executing people to demonstrate their villainy.

A master weaver of stories, she can simply will into being intricate illusion with less physical substance than her thread-made constructs, but almost indistinguishable from reality by man and machine alike.

Complications

OUTSIDER LOOKING IN:

For an inhuman creature with a questionable grasp of reality, they can make a fairly reasonable show of being human. At least, human enough. Most of the time. Of course, sometimes that shared experience from cultural awareness just isn't there or is… twisted a bit.

ENEMY:

Luck-based characters may also earn enemies who consider them “cheats” at best, serious threats to the natural order and future of the universe at worst! An enemy may take up the task (reluctantly or otherwise) of safeguarding the world from a luck controller’s tampering.

Finally, envy often rears its ugly head where incredible luck is concerned, and enemies may try to steal or co-opt the character’s power to use it for their own gain. Perhaps they want to create a living “lucky charm” or somehow siphon off some of the character’s good fortune.

WEIRDNESS MAGNET:

Luck powers may make a character prone to strange “coincidences” of all kinds. Essentially, the GM can introduce all manner of weird complications created by the character’s presence: from stolen alien artifacts turning up in the character’s belongings to trouble literally falling through the ceiling!

FAN OF HEROICS:

They essentially changed their old job to working remotely just so they could be closer to heroics. Heroics (and villainy) are sometimes more real to them than the mundane, even when dealing with those who just want to get through the day. Sometimes they might accept something heroic or villainous at face value or take it for granted that others want to get involved in a situation.

Issues

MASTER OF FATE:

On occasion, they have to protest that they can't control every bit of fate and that people think it's just a casual effort to massively warp fate. And as much as the character protests otherwise, those people aren't entirely wrong. Certainly, they have the capability of altering fate to far greater expanses than normal… but so too are the potential consequences.

Unbalance fate enough and, sooner or later, it may correct itself, possibly with serious consequences. A fate-weaver may be a “jinx”—suffering bad luck or inflicting it upon friends and colleagues. Where powers influencing probability are concerned, the GM can come up with a wide range of “accidents” to befall the heroes. If there’s any chance it could happen, then it may.

More than just unfortunate accidents, fate manipulation may have serious implications for the whole of reality! A character’s fate powers could place stresses on the space-time continuum or the very concept of causality. If overused (or misused) they could cause things like fractures or tears in the cosmos itself. Not to mention increased attention from those who maintain such balances.

WHAT TANGLED WEBS WE WEAVE:

If it has to do with webs or weaving, actual or metaphysical, then they are surprisingly competent. Whether understanding the nuances of braiding disparate materials, fashion intricacies, marketing, or networks both social and electronic, they have a surprisingly intuitive grasp…to a point. They view computers and the internet as one of the more incredible and wonderful things available to the modern world; the ability to network with others and express your words to an arbitrarily large audience is amazing.

Of course, understanding how things are woven together doesn't necessarily help one understand the things themselves. While she's fairly certain about thread and words, weaving together other things may be entirely possible but highly undesirable. Their instinctive understanding also is often found wanting regarding things normally thought of as related; they can for instance easily comprehend that a machine can connect across the world…but still needed explanations that the ATM isn't actually making the money it spits out. Being able to notice, counter, and track those who intrude on the website is right up there with a daunting command of word processors… and having to be taught that downloading random files off the internet from shady sites may lead to viruses.

On the other hand, with such control over words and a love for convoluted situations, sometimes everything starts looking like it could do with a bit more drama. Sure, you could just ask the neighbors to turn down the music or just directly threaten them… but why do that when you can stage an impromptu musical, secretly conduct a minor but world-wide conspiracy, and then engineer a freak lightning storm? Surely their colleagues appreciated addressing the manner in this way and would be willing to get a little extra ozone in their life. What's worse is that sometimes she's being entirely truthful that such was necessary given the vagaries of fate; removing a snarl from the weave of fate can easily be anything but straightforward.

FAMILY AFFAIRS:

They come from a rather extensive family, to put it mildly. Their family tends to be organized in generations, with each having a fluctuating number; the earlier generations are significantly more like their Fate Spider patrons, while more recent generations can even pass for human with some effort. There is an incredible amount of knowledge and power among the generations with the Fate Spiders themselves possibly having even more…but managing to get their family to exert that power or share that knowledge can be frustrating and often futile. At other times, involving yourself with them could easily lead to involvement with all manner of schemes, regardless of your own intentions. Additionally, it can be difficult at the best of times just for the generations to get information and understanding from each other. Even talking to the earlier generations is taxing, much less the Fate Spiders themselves. There's also a certain amount of existential worry around their purpose, as it seems the Fate Spiders could, and have, done the job without her family. Finally, near all of her family has a distinct aversion to direct intervention; it took her generation to even start regularly and openly question this, and her example may signal a shift in the times.

They technically haven't skipped out on the family job, even if they're on the other side of the loom of fate at moment. Some things difficult to do from outside of fate are simple matters from inside, and vice versa. Regardless, she still has a duty to undo snarls in fate. Sometimes, those snarls are caused BY her though, and (some of) her family doesn't appreciate the extra work from those tasks she isn't focusing on as much now from. While many won't do things to directly and intentionally hinder her, they may well let her deal with consequences that would automatically get taken care of normally; that said, some may even appreciate the odd favor or even (mildly) approve. And some few of her generation take it more personally yet, and may interfere more directly. One sister in particular has taken a special aversion to her love of heroics and has grasped enough of the concept of irony to consider villainy a suitable balance.

It can be convenient to have access to an area outside of fate and adjacent to reality to call home. The experiences on both sides of the loom don't translate well however, and moving between them is not something simple for those of her generation; this maaaay have more to do with her not just visiting for a short stint though. Theoretically, she can just return there, even from otherwise certain death…but getting back to this side of the loom wouldn't be easy or without cost. Technically though, short hops even with others may be feasible, if almost certainly undesirable.